Coated fabric



Dec. 19, 1933. E. H. NLLAU Er AL 1,940,452

COATED FABRICS vxrncrsept, 27. i930 l Dmled Fabric I Cllulose nirha,sofnennlmencoaincl cgmloosidon Adhesive i Fabric backinfl Bv THEIRATroRNEY Patented Dec. l 19, 1933 coA'rEn FABRIC Edgar n. Nouan andDonald A. Rankin, Newburgh, N. Y., assignors to E. I. du Pont de Ncmours& Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationSeptember 27, 1930 Serial No. 484,860

12 claims. (ci. 154-46) This invention relates to coated fabrics andmore particularly to such products adapted to serve as leathersubstitutes.

This invention has as an object the production of a coated fabricproduct. A further object is the production of a. leather substitutewhich is of decorative Aappearance and of general utility in the arts. Astill further object is to impart certain desirable properties tofabrics which they do not naturally possess. Other objects will appearhereinafter.

The objects are accomplished by the following preferred mode ofprocedurey which will be described in connection with the figure in thedrawing showing a. section of the preferred form of'our coated fabriclproduct.

A woven sheeting 1, preferably oneof such a weight to be equivalent toapproximately 2.5 yards per pound per 58 in width, is dyed, by the usualmethod of jig or padder dyeing, a color approxlrnating the color of thefinished product, this color being determined by the pigment in thecoating composition next applied. This fabric may be a plain weavefabric, .such as for instance, a sheeting, or other types of weaves, asdrills, etc. After the material is dyed and carefully dried, it iscoated in a suitable machine by means of a doctor knife having a sharpedge with two coats of a pigmented cellulose nitrate-softenercomposition of the approximate following formula:

Per cent .Cellulose nitrate 26-23 Softener 46-52 Pigment 28-25 `rollerembossing equipment in the grain ywhich is desired in the ultimatefinished product. Ifv it is desired to produce a two-tone effect in thelfinished product, the material after embossing Ois treated with acomposition similar to that noted above but usually in a contrastingcolor in order to give the final two-tone effect. This coated materialis then combined by the usual doubling or combining operation to anotherfabric 4, either a sheeting, drill, Sateen, or heavier fabric, by meansof a suitable adhesive, as for instance, rubber cement. -The adhesive isapplied to both fabrics and then the fabrics combined by passing thruthe doubling machine. The rubber cement may be replaced by other suit-00 able adhesives, such as pyroxylin compositions, and treated oilcompositions, ete.l

A special coating 5 comprised of the following ingredients is nowapplied to the surface of coating 2. 05

Per cent Cellulose nitrate 10.8 Ceresin wax (refined) 2.7 Dibutylphthalate 10.8 Ethyl acetate C. P.. l 17.3 Denatured ethyl alcohol 33.6Toluol C. P 24.8

Dry solids in these compositions vary between 12 and 28%. If desired,however, the composi- 75 tions may be further diluted with suchmaterials as toluol, benzol, or gasoline. These ingredients arepreferably compounded in the'following manner: The ceresin wax, afterbeing liquefied by heating, is carefully mixed with warm toluol bythorough agitation. To this solution of the wax is added a cellulosenitrate dispersionjin a solvent consisting of ethyl acetate anddenatured alcohol in a concentration of approximatelyl 17%. The mixtureis carefully stirred until an even and perfectly smooth dispersion isobtained. The dibutyl phthalate is then added with constant stirring.After the coating 5 of this composition is applied, a special lustrousfinish may be obtained by further embossingf The ratio of theingredients in the above mentioned coating composition from which thecoat- .ing 5 is obtained, may vary somewhat from the valuesA indicated.Thus, the cellulose nitrate may vary between 5 and 15%, the ceresin waxfrom 1 95 to 9.5%, the dibutyl phthalate from to 15%, the ethyl acetatefrom 16 to 21%, the denatured ethyl alcohol from 28 to 36%, and thetoluol from 20 to 35%. These ingredients may also be'substituted byequivalents as will be understood by those'skilled in the art. Suitablewax-like substances that may replace the yceresin wax men'- tionedimtheexample are as follows; carnaubal wax, candelilla' Wax, paraffin wax, orsimilar straight chain hydrocarbon waxes, solid hydrocarbon waxes of thecyclic type, Japan wax, Montan wax, spermaceti wax, hydrogenated cas-rtor oil, and resinsof the polyhydric alcoholpolybasic acid type.

These resins, as understood by those skilled .no

in the art, are the reaction products of polyhydric alcohols (asglycerol) with polybasic acids (as phthalic anhydride) in which dryingoils, oil acids, or other modifying and solubilizing agents have beenincorporated. Suitable softening agents, other than dibutyl phthalate,may be exemplined by: dibutyl tartrate, tricresyl phosphate. raw castoroil, blown castor oil, and blown cotton seed oil. Various organicsolvents may replace those mentioned, as for instance, acetone, butylacetate, ethyl propionate, methyl alcohol, benzol, and xylene.

While it is desirable to interpose the coating 2 composed of cellulosenitrate. softener and pigment between the nnal or outside coatingcomprised of the ingredients referred to above, it is to be understoodthatl a valuable coated fabric product is obtained by applying thecoating 5 directly to the base material 1. The treatment hereindisclosed results in the production of a nlm on either coated oruncoated fabric which is discontinuous with respect to the principalingredient, namely, cellulose nitrate. The exceptional properties whichcharacterize our improved product are due to the existence of thisdiscontinuous type of nlm. Among the properties referred to may bementioned the extremely high exudation temperatures and low cold cracktemperatures. It is preferred, however, to make the product as indicatedin the drawing because of fthe leather-like and attractive nnishimpartedto the composite product by the coating 2.

, A coated fabric product made in accordance with the present inventiosi. e. several valuable characteristics. The product has soilresistance; that is, dust and dirt do not adhere to the surface as inthe case of regular fabrics. Oil and grease do not penetrate the surfaceas is the case with untreated fabrics. The product is also washable inthat dust and dirt, as well as oil and 'grease can be satisfactorilyremoved by the usual cleaning agents without harming the fabric. Sincethe product is water repellent, the material does not absorb water asuntreated fabrics do, and the material, therefore, shows little tendencyto shrink. '111e treatment also appreclably reduces the tendency of thefabric to fade.

`celllll nitrate.

2. A washable, oil and grease resistant, coated fabric comprising atextile fabric carrying a illmx comprising, by ,weight -15 parts ofcellulose` nitrate, 1-9.5 parts of a wax, and 5-15 parts of a softenerwhich is a non-solvent for the wax, the character of the ingredientsvbeing such that the nlm is discontinuous with respect tothe cellulosenitrate. v ,3. A washable, oil and grease resistant, coated fabriccomprising a textile fabric carrying a nlm comprising, by weight, 5-15parts of cellulose nitrate, 1-9.5 parts of ceresin wax, and 5-15 partsof a softener which is a non-solvent for the being such that the nlm isdiscontinuous with respect to the cellulose nitrate. t 4. A washable,oil and grease resistant, coated. fabric comprising a textile fabriccarrying a nlm comprising, by weight, 10.8 parts cellulose nitrate, 10.8parts dibutyl phthalate, and 2.7 parts ceresin wax, the character of theingredients being such lthat the nlm is discontinuous with respect tothe cellulose nitrate.'

5. A washable, oil and grease resistant, coated of the ingredients insaid surface nlm being such that the nlm is discontinuous with respectto the cellulose nitrate. I

6. A washable,- oil and grease resistant, coated fabric comprising atextile fabric, a nlm comprising cellulose nitrate, a softener and apigment superposed on said fabric and a surface nlm comprising, byweight, 5-15 parts of cellulose nitrate, 19.5 parts of a wax, and 5-15parts of a softener which is a non-solvent for the wax, superposed onsaid nrst nlm, the character of the ingredients in said surface nlmbeing such that the nlm is discontinuous with respect to the'- cellulosenitrate.

7. A washable, oil and grease resistant, coated fabric comprising atextile fabric, a nlm comprising cellulose nitrate, a softener and apigment superposed on said fabric and a surface nlm comprising, byweight, 5-15 parts of cellu- -lose nitrate, l0.5 parts of ceresin wax,and 5-15.

parts of a softener which is a non-solvent for the ceresin wax,superposed on said nrst nlm, the character of the ingredients in saidsurface nlm being such that the nlm is discontinuous with respect to thecellulose nitrate.

.8. A washable, oil and grease resistant, coated fabric comprising atextile fabric, a nlm comprising cellulose nitrate, a softener and apigment superposed on said fabric anda surface nlm comprising, byweight, 10.8 parts cellulose nitrate, 10.8 parts dibutyl phthalate, and2.7 parts ceresin wax superposed on said nrst nlm. thecharacter of theingredients in said surface nlm being such that thev nlm isdiscontinuous with respect to the cellulose nitrate.

9. Awashable, oil and grease resistant, artincial leather comprising Iarelatively heavy fabric base, a lighter fabric cemented to one face ofsaid fabric base, a nlm comprising cellulose nitrate, a softener, and apigment superposed on said lighter fabric, and a surface nlm comprisingcellulose nitrate, a wax, and a softener which is a nonsoivent for thewax, superposed on said nrst nlm, the character and proportion of theingredients in said surface nlm being such that the nlm is discontinuouswith respect to the cellulose nitrate.

10. A washable, oil and grease resistant, artincial leather comprising arelatively heavy fabric fabric base, a nlm comprising cellulose nitrate,a softener, and a pigment superposed on said lighter fabric, and asurface nlm comprising, by` weight, 5-15 parts of cellulose nitrate,19'.5 parts of a wax, and 5-15 parts of a softener which is anon-solvent for the wax, superposed on said nrst nlm. the character ofthe ingredients in said surface nlm being such 'that the nlm isdiscontinuous with respect to the cellulose nitrate.

ceresin wax. the character of the ingredients 11. A washable, oil andgrease resistant, articial leather comprising a relatively heavy fabricbase, a lighter fabric cemented to one face of said fabric base, a filmcomprising cellulose nitrate, a softener, and a pigment super-posed onsaid lighter fabric, and a surface nlm comprising, by weight, 5-15 partsof cellulose nitrate, 1-9.5 parte of eeresin wax, and 5-15 parts of asoftener which is a non-solvent for the ceresin wax, superposed on saidfirst film, the character of the ingredients in said surface lm beingsuch that the film is discontinuous with respect to the cellulosenitrate.

12. A Washable, oil and grease resistant, articial leather comprising arelatively heavy fabric Mii

